Jussie Smollett Files Appeal Over Jail Time Stemming from 2021 Conviction for Faking Hate Crime

Jussie Smollett filed an appeal to head back to court over an alleged 2019 hate crime that he was later convicted of faking.

The 40-year-old former Empire star was sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021 after being found guilty of faking a hate crime. After serving six of those days in 2022, Jussie was released so his legal team could appeal the sentence.

Newly filed court documents show that they have done so this week and present a case for why the sentence should be dropped.

Read more about Jussie Smollett’s latest legal move…

According to Variety, Jussie‘s legal team is taking issue with the length of the sentence and the way that the judge handled the case, calling out perceived mistakes that were made along the way.

Deadline noted that the appeal also takes issue with a $10,000 bail that Jussie paid to be released from jail and community service that he completed, claiming that he was “punished for the same offenses by his performance of community service and forfeiture of his bond.”

“Thus, the violation of due process was prejudicial and requires reversal of Mr. Smollett’s convictions and a dismissal of the charges against him,” his lawyer wrote in the newly filed court documents.

Jussie has continued to maintain his innocence and spoke up about the situation last year.